A friend of mine from out of state asked me to review estate planning documents she is getting ready to sign before going out of town for the first time with her husband and without her kids.
These documents were prepared by a traditional estate planning lawyer who sent her the draft documents for review before […]
Family Wealth Planning is the Web 2.0 version of estate planning.
Whereas “estate planning” is about preparing and passing on your financial assets at the end of your life, Family Wealth Planning is about making the right financial and legal decisions for your whole family wealth throughout your lifetime and leaving the world a better place […]
Comments(3)In last week’s article “How to Choose the Right Trustee,” I mentioned that there are no trust police out there making sure that your Trustee is following the instructions set out in your Trust. That can be scary when you are entrusting your whole life savings and your kids’ financial well-being to this person.
But, […]
Comments(1)Before we talk about how to choose the right Trustee, let’s talk about what a Trustee does and whether you need to choose a Trustee.
A Trustee is the legal owner of assets held in Trust. When you establish a Revocable Living Trust, you will be the Trustee of your own Trust as long as […]
Quite frequently when I’m working with clients, I am asked the question - how much life insurance do I need?
Like any good lawyer, my answer is “it depends.” There’s no set answer.
Personally, I have $1,500,000 on my life. And, by the way, it’s not payable to my kids or my ex if something happens to […]
Comments(5)I get massively ticked off when I meet with prospects for a Family Wealth Planning Session and see on their Family Wealth Inventory and Assessment they’ve been sold life insurance they don’t need.
Life insurance is critically important for families, no doubt.
But, it’s important you get the right type of life insurance for your family; otherwise, […]
Comments(10)A few days ago, I got an email from my cousin asking me whether I wanted to hear about how one of my family members stole $300,000 from me and my sister.
Let me start at the beginning …
About a month ago, my grandmother (Nana) died in Florida. Nana was my dad’s mom and I didn’t […]
Comments(1)Last week, I was contacted by Alice Gomstyn, a reporter from ABC News who was writing a story about Heath Ledger, who as you’ll recall from my article last week, died with an out of date Will that didn’t mention his daughter Matilda.
Alice’s article confirms what I’ve been saying all along … most lawyers are […]
Comments(5)Another sad case of a woman on life support who didn’t do any estate planning. Deanna Suzanne Fruggiero is only 31 and not married, so she probably didn’t think it was important. Now, her divorced parents are fighting over who will make decisions about her care. Every adult over the age of 18 […]
Monday’s Wall St. Journal article Market Turmoil Creates Opening to Enrich Heirs
highlighted one way the current downturn in the market can be a huge opportunity for the wealthy. This is a fantastic time for you to pass assets on to your heirs at a major discount.
For those of you who aren’t facing estate […]
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